India vs Sri Lanka, 3rd Test: India won toss, opt to bat first

India captain Virat Kohli’s luck with the coin continued as he called correctly for the third straight time in the series and elected to bat in the third Test against Sri Lanka at the Pallekele International Stadium.

On expected lines, India picked chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI for the final Test. The 22-year-old chainman bowler was an automatic replacement for Ravindra Jadeja, who is suspended for the final Test and will partner R Aswhin in what will be his first overseas Test.

India lead the series 2-0 and are aiming for a historic clean sweep of 3-0 for the first time in their history. Yadav had made a strong debut in Dharamsala in the fourth Test in March, where he claimed four for 68 to set up India’s eight-wicket win and clinch the series.

In the first two Tests in Sri Lanka, Virat Kohli has gone with the two specialist spinners in R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, which kept Yadav on from the sidelines.

The wicket at the Pallekele Stadium is known to have some juice for the pacers and they will be looking to exploit the early moisture in the wicket. Captain Virat Kohli stuck to his pace bowling combination of the first two Tests with all-rounder Hardik Pandya entrusted with the fifth bowler’s role.

Sri Lanka are missing the services of their main pace bowler Nuwan Pradeep and main spinner Rangana Herath, fielding a relatively inexperienced side. They made three changes to the side with Lahiru Kumara, Lakshan Sandakan and Vishwa Fernando coming into the team.

Pallekele is a new Test venue and has hosted only five Tests so far. The first three ended in draws before Sri Lanka lost one against Pakistan and won one against Australia.